JP2003146899A - Skin-improving agent - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a skin-improving agent, and to provide a health food containing the agent. SOLUTION: This skin-improving agent is obtained by using pine bark extract. The preferable pine bark extract contains >=20 wt.% OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin) and >=5.0 wt.% catechin. The food containing the pine bark extract and ascorbic acid or its salt has the effect increasing the content of excellent collagen in the skin and improving the skin.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a skin improving agent, which contains a pine bark extract, and a health food containing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ascorbic acid (hereinafter sometimes referred to as vitamin C) is an essential micronutrient for humans. In addition to its immunostimulatory action and blood cholesterol lowering action, it also has a whitening and skin-reducing action on the skin. It has been reported to have an improving effect. However, this vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which cannot be maintained in the body for a long time, and is normally excreted in urine within 2 to 3 hours even if ingested. For this reason, the amount of vitamin C required for the body needs to be devised such that the amount of vitamin C to be ingested in one day is divided into several times.

Therefore, in order to fully exert the skin-improving action of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), it is necessary to continue drinking for a certain period of time.
It cannot be said that the skin-improving agent used alone is very effective, and there is a demand for a substance having a new skin-improving action and a food containing the substance.

[0004]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel skin improving agent and a health food containing the same.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of a search for a natural material capable of improving the skin quality, the present inventors have found that the use of a pine bark extract improves the skin quality. The invention was completed.

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by a skin improving agent characterized by containing a pine bark extract and a food containing the skin improving agent. That is, the present invention provides a skin improving agent comprising a pine bark extract.

In a preferred embodiment, the pine bark extract is a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin).

[0008] In a further preferred embodiment, the pine bark extract is a pine bark extract containing not less than 20% by weight of OPC and 5.0% by weight or more of catechins. is there.

[0009] In another embodiment, the skin improving agent of the present invention contains ascorbic acid or a salt thereof.

The present invention also provides a health food containing any of the aforementioned skin improving agents.

The skin is routinely improved by ingesting the skin improving agent containing the pine bark extract of the present invention and the health food containing the skin improving agent.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The skin improving agent of the present invention is characterized by containing a pine bark extract. Pine bark extracts include French coastal pine (Pinus Martima), larch, black pine, red pine, red pine, black pine, pine pine, high pine, Ryukyu pine, Japanese pine,
Bark extracts such as rhubarb, white pine, and aneda from Quebec, Canada are preferably used. Of these, bark extract of French coastal pine (Pinus Martima) is preferably used.

The French coastal pine is a marine pine that grows on a part of the Atlantic coast of southern France. The bark of this French coastal pine tree contains proanthocyanidin, which is a flavonoid, as a main component,
It contains organic acids and other physiologically active ingredients.
It is known that proanthocyanidin, which is this main component, has a strong antioxidant action of removing active oxygen.

The pine bark extract is obtained by extracting the bark of the pine tree with water or an organic solvent. When water is used, hot water or hot water is used. As the organic solvent used for extraction, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol,
2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol,
Butane, acetone, hexane, cyclohexane, propylene glycol, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol, ethyl methyl ketone, glycerin, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, dichloromethane,
Edible oil and fat, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane,
Organic solvents acceptable for the production of foods or drugs such as 1,1,2-trichloroethene are preferably used. These water and organic solvents may be used alone or in combination. In particular, hot water, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol and the like are preferably used.

The extraction method from pine bark is not particularly limited, but for example, a heating extraction method, a supercritical fluid extraction method or the like is used.

The supercritical fluid extraction method is a method of performing extraction using a supercritical fluid which is a fluid in a state of exceeding the gas-liquid critical point (critical temperature, critical pressure) of a substance. Carbon dioxide, ethylene, propane, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and the like are used as the supercritical fluid, but carbon dioxide is preferably used.

In the supercritical fluid extraction method, an extraction step of extracting the target component with the supercritical fluid and a separation step of separating the target component and the supercritical fluid are performed. In the separation process, extraction separation due to pressure change, extraction separation due to temperature change, adsorbent
Any of extraction and separation using an absorbent may be performed.

Supercritical fluid extraction may be carried out by the entrainer addition method. According to this method, for example, ethanol, propanol, n-hexane, acetone, toluene, other lower aliphatic alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, and ketones are added to the extraction fluid in an amount of 2 to 2.
By adding about 0 W / V% and performing supercritical fluid extraction using this fluid, the solubility of the target extract such as OPC and catechins in the extraction solvent is dramatically increased, or the selectivity of separation is increased. And a method for obtaining an efficient pine bark extract.

Since the supercritical fluid extraction method can be operated at a relatively low temperature, it can be applied to substances that are altered or decomposed at high temperatures, the advantage that no extraction fluid remains, and the solvent can be circulated and used. There is an advantage that the desolvation step and the like can be omitted and the step is simplified.

Extraction from pine bark may be performed by a liquid carbon dioxide batch method, a liquid carbon dioxide reflux method, a supercritical carbon dioxide reflux method, or the like, in addition to the above extraction method.

The extraction from pine bark may be performed by combining a plurality of extraction methods. By combining a plurality of extraction methods, it becomes possible to obtain pine bark extracts having various compositions.

The pine bark extract used in the present invention includes a polyanthocyanidin condensation polymer, that is, flavan-
A polycondensate having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more and containing 3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a constitutional unit is contained. As the polycondensate, a polycondensate having a low degree of polymerization is preferably used. Condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 30 (2 to
30-mer) is preferable, a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2-10 (2-10-mer) is more preferable, and a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2-4 (2-4mer) is more preferably used. .

In the present specification, among polycondensates of proanthocyanidins, the degree of polymerization of flavan-3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a constituent unit is 2
The polymers of 4 to 4 are called OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin).

OPC is a kind of polyphenol, which is a powerful antioxidant produced by plants, such as plant leaves, bark,
It is concentrated in the peels and seeds of fruits. Specifically, it is contained in grape seed, pine bark, peanut skin, ginkgo, black locust fruit, cowberry and the like. It is also known that cola nuts in West Africa, roots of Latania in Peru, and green tea in Japan also contain OPC. OPC is a substance that cannot be produced in the human body.

Since such OPC is an antioxidant, it has the effect of lowering the risk rate of adult diseases such as cancer, heart disease and cerebral thrombosis, and the effect of improving allergic constitution such as arthritis, atopic dermatitis and hay fever. And so on.

Further, OPC has an antioxidant effect, an effect of suppressing bacterial growth in the oral cavity to reduce plaque (dental plaque), an effect of restoring elasticity of blood vessels, and lipoprotein in blood is a reactive oxygen species. As a potentiator of vitamin E, the effect of preventing damaged fat from aggregating on the inner wall of blood vessels and preventing cholesterol from adhering, regenerating vitamin E decomposed by active oxygen, Is known to have the effect of.

In the present invention, a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC is preferably used. It is preferably 30% by weight or more.

When OPC is used as the pine bark extract,
A more excellent skin improving effect can be obtained as compared with the case of using one having a high degree of polymerization.

The pine bark extract used in the present invention preferably contains 5% by weight or more of catechins. Catechins are also extracted from pine bark and are included in the pine bark extract. That is, catechins can be extracted together with OPC.

The catechins are a general term for polyhydroxyflavan-3-ols, and in addition to (+)-catechin, which is said to be catechin in a narrow sense, gallocatechin, afzelekin, (+)-catechin or 3-galloyl of gallocatechin. Derivatives have been isolated from natural products. As catechins, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin,
(+)-Gallocatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, etc. are known. For catechins, carcinogenesis suppression, arteriosclerosis prevention, fat metabolism abnormality suppression, blood pressure increase suppression, thrombosis prevention,
It is known to have antiallergic, antiviral, antibacterial, tooth decay prevention, halitosis prevention, intestinal flora normalization effect, active oxygen and free radical scavenging effect, antioxidant effect and the like.
Further, catechins are known to have an antidiabetic effect of suppressing an increase in blood sugar.

Catechins have the property that they are easily dissolved in water in the presence of OPC and, at the same time, they become active.

As the skin improving agent of the present invention, it is most preferable to use a pine bark extract containing 5% by weight or more of catechins and 20% by weight or more of OPC. When the OPC content of the pine bark extract is less than 20% by weight, or the catechins content is less than 5% by weight, the OPC content is 20% by weight or more, or the catechins content is 5% by weight or more. Thus, OPC or catechins may be added.

The pine bark extract used for the skin improving agent of the present invention is specifically prepared by the following method, but this is an example and not limited to this method.

1 kg of bark of French coastal pine is extracted with 3 L of a saturated sodium chloride solution at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain an extract (extraction step). Then, the extract is filtered and the resulting insoluble matter is saturated with sodium chloride solution 500.
Wash with ml to obtain a washing solution (washing step). A crude pine bark extract is obtained by combining the extract and the washing solution.

Then, ethyl acetate 250 was added to the crude extract.
ml is added and liquid-separated, and the ethyl acetate layer recovery step of recovering the ethyl acetate layer is performed 5 times. In this ethyl acetate layer recovery step, the ethyl acetate layer was replaced with anhydrous sodium sulfate 20%.
Dehydrate and collect at 0 g. After that, the ethyl acetate layer is filtered, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure until it becomes 1/5 of the original volume.
Pour the concentrated ethyl acetate layer into 2 L of chloroform,
The precipitate obtained by stirring is collected by filtration. Then, after dissolving the precipitate in 100 ml of ethyl acetate,
Add again to 1 L of chloroform to perform precipitation.
Repeat the washing process. By this method, about 5 g of a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight of a 2- to 4-meric OPC and 5% by weight or more of catechins can be obtained.

In order to obtain the effect of the skin improving agent of the present invention, the pine bark extract is 50 mg to 2000 m per day.
g, preferably 100 mg to 1000 mg, may be administered to humans.

The health food of the present invention is obtained by incorporating a pine bark extract into a food. The content of the pine bark extract in the health food may be determined in consideration of the above intake amount.

In the health food of the present invention, in addition to the pine bark extract, if necessary, an excipient, a bulking agent, a binder, a thickening agent,
It can be mixed with emulsifiers, colorants, flavors, food additives, seasonings and the like. For example, as a nutritional supplement, royal jelly, vitamins, proteins, calcium such as egg shell calcium, chitosan, lecithin, chlorella powder, ashitaba powder,
Moroheiya powder, etc. are added, and further, stevia powder, matcha powder, lemon powder, honey, reduced maltose,
The taste can be adjusted by adding lactose, sugar solution, seasonings and the like.

If desired, these can be formed into capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules, tablets or pills, or formed into powder, granules, candy and the like.

In such a health food, the pine bark extract is generally 0.5 to 10% by weight, though it depends on the dosage form.
It is preferably compounded in the range of 1.0 to 7.0% by weight.

The skin improving agent and the health food containing the same according to the present embodiment may be eaten or drink as they are, or may be water, hot water,
You can drink it by dissolving it in milk, etc., or you can drink it by leaching the ingredients.

[0042]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.
It goes without saying that the invention is not limited by this example.

(Example 1) Purified feed containing L-ascorbic acid at a low concentration and OPC obtained by the above-mentioned method
The effect of the skin improving agent of the present invention was evaluated as follows using a pine bark extract containing 0% by weight and 5% by weight or more of catechin (hereinafter, simply referred to as pine bark extract).

A 3-week-old male guinea pig (Japan SLC, Inc.) was fed with a standard solid feed (RC4, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) for 1 week for acclimation, and then a group of 7 animals was prepared by the total randomization method. Allotted individually.

L-ascorbic acid (0.01% by weight)
A purified feed containing was prepared. This refined feed is corn starch (29.49%), milk casein (20.
00%), alfalfa meal (10.00%), α
-Potato starch (10.00%), cellulose powder (10.00%) sucrose (10.00%),
Soybean oil (6.00%), mineral mixture (AIN-7
6, 3.50%), vitamin mixture (AIN-76,
1.00%) and ascorbic acid (0.01%). All the numbers mean% by weight.

Then, the purified feed was mixed with the pine bark extract so as to be 0.5% (Test Example 1) and 2.5% (Test Example 2), and the solid feed was molded for 28 days. , Allowed free intake.

28 days after administration, the central part of the back skin of the test animal was peeled off and excised. After drying overnight at 60 ° C., this skin was crushed, 50 mg of it was added to 5 ml of hydrochloric acid (6 mol / L), and heated at 110 ° C. for 24 hours using a heating block for hydrolysis. did. Then, using this hydrolyzate as a sample, the hydroxyproline (Hyp) content was measured by the chloramine T method. Hydroxyproline is abundant in collagen,
A high hydroxyproline content is an indicator that collagen is being produced. The results are shown in Fig. 1.
The control in FIG. 1 is a group fed with a purified feed containing no pine bark extract.

The results shown in FIG. 1 show that the skin improving agent of the present invention containing the pine bark extract increased the collagen content of the skin, indicating that it is useful as a skin improving agent.

Also, part of the extracted back skin is 1
After fixing with 0% neutral buffered formalin, paraffin sections were prepared according to a conventional method and stained with Azan. When the thickness of the dermis (collagen fiber) layer was measured with a micrometer using the collagen fiber stained in blue as an index, the dermis layer of Test Examples 1 and 2 fed with the feed containing the pine bark extract was compared to the control group. Was clearly thick (data not shown).

Example 2 A 3-week-old male guinea pig was bred in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it contained no ascorbic acid at all and a purified feed having a corn starch concentration of 29.50% was used. When the thickness of the collagen layer was examined after breeding for 28 days, it was clearly thicker in the group to which the pine bark extract was added than in the group to which no pine bark extract was added (data not shown).

[0051]

Industrial Applicability As described above, the use of a skin improving agent characterized by containing a pine bark extract containing OPC in an amount of 20% by weight or more and catechins in an amount of 5% by weight or more makes it possible to improve the skin collagen content. Can increase and improve the skin.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the hydroxyproline content of guinea pig skin treated with the skin improving agent of the present invention and guinea pig skin not treated.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 4B018 MD07 MD09 MD25 MD60 MD61                       ME14 MF01                 4C086 AA01 AA02 BA03 BA08 MA02                       MA03 MA04 NA05 NA14 ZA89                 4C088 AB03 AC06 BA08 CA03 MA02                       MA03 MA52 MA63 ZA89

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A skin improving agent, comprising a pine bark extract. 2. The pine bark extract is an OPC (oligomer).
The skin improving agent according to claim 1, which is a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of ic proanthocyanidin). 3. The skin improving agent according to claim 2, wherein the pine bark extract is a pine bark extract further containing 5.0% by weight or more of catechins. 4. The skin improving agent according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising ascorbic acid or a salt thereof. 5. A health food containing the skin improving agent according to any one of claims 1 to 4.